Watch Tom Cruise Beat Himself Up in a New ‘The Mummy’ Stunt Video

If we’re being honest with each other, I’m not typically a big fan of behind-the-scenes videos and features. These days they all seem the same: an actor jumps in front of a blue background and lands on a blue foam pad, and everyone stands up and smiles at each other for a job well done. My one big exception is Tom Cruise movies. Cruise’s action films are a testament to doing things the hard way, so every highlight reel of the actor slamming into cars, hitting his head against walls, or getting punched in the face is a testament to a dying trade.

The latest video for The Mummy(via Heroic Hollywood) basically just a love-fest for Cruise, with actors Annabelle Wallis, Sterling K. Brown, and Jake Johnson joining director Alex Kurtzman to marvel at the insane lengths Cruise will go to for an action beat. More interesting, however, is the amount of behind-the-scenes footage they’ve managed to capture. We see Cruise getting beaten up by Russell Crowe, rolling around in zero-g, and jumping off buildings as explosions go off in the background. It’s a fun little trip and well worth part of your Sunday afternoon.

In case you only watch the first part of the video, there’s one clip in particular near the end of the video that I want to highlight. Cruise, having thrown himself down a hill, is greeted by the director of photography, who shakes his head and offers the following words of praise:

You’re the only actor in the world who could find their frame mid-air, three times. You’re like, “It’s really me! It’s really me! It’s me!”

That’s what I love about Tom Cruise. The modern Hollywood blockbuster doesn’t require an actor to take physical risks with his body; heck, I’d wager that the vast majority of audiences will see The Mummy and assume Cruise’s practical stunts were all CGI anyways. There’s absolutely no reason for Cruise to put himself through the ringer for this movie, but he does so anyways, all in the faith that some of us will respond to the physical effort we see onscreen. Maybe we don’t need another Mummy movie, but another movie where Tom Cruise embarrasses actors half his age with his commitment to his craft? There may never be another movie star quite like him. Let’s enjoy it for as long as we can.